Deed of Murder

I like Cora Harrison and have been enjoying Mara, Brehon (high judge) of the three kingdoms very much. Life wasn’t easy for a working mother in the 16th century, even if she was the wife of the king. There’s her duties as wife, as judge in a murder case, as head of a law school, and as a mother, all vying for her attention.

Unlike the stories set in the Burren, western Ireland, this takes place mostly in her husband town and is less enjoyable that those set in her home. Mara seems scattered and distracted, pulled in too many directions. One of her students goes missing for several days, and aside from a spare thought now and then, she does nothing about it.

An unbelievable flash of insight enables her to solve the mystery and the puzzle of her missing student’s whereabouts. It’s all rather to be taken on faith rather than Mara working it out clue by clue. That being said, this is a satisfying read, with lots of insight into Brehon law and Irish history.